“I know,” Cade said with a grin.
“And after that interesting display of insight and psychological evaluation that seriously makes me question whether I’m the one who should be a Guide, I’m going to the gym,” Luka said dryly, getting up to get rid of his dishes.
“After eating? God, just say you wanna throw up,” Clay said with a wrinkle of his nose.
“I go for a light workout after eating, otherwise I’ll end up feeling sluggish and bloated,” Luka said as he glanced at me. “Feel free to join me.”
“I could do a bit of jogging, I’ll catch up in a second,” I said, gesturing to the last bits of food on my plate.
Luka nodded and walked off, and Clay looked at me with a frown. “Was he really bothered by what you just did?”
“A little,” I admitted, not wanting to talk about Luka’s vulnerabilities. “He’s new at the job, and I think he’s worried that he’s not going to do it right. He’s not insecure, just a little gun-shy.”
“Yeah, I guess, though I don’t know why. From what I heard, Rowan got through the program just fine. And he also started giving the place a lot of money,” Clay said with a snort. “So, I’d call that a massive success, wouldn’t you?”
“Seems that way,” I agreed, shoving the last of my food into my mouth so my face didn’t betray my surprise.
Christ, if what I’d guessed about Luka earlier was accurate, that meant...huh, interesting. I would never have pictured Luka as the type to risk sleeping with his guest, but at the same time, I could almost picture it. The very nature of the guest and Guide program puts two people together in a close, intimate fashion that could easily spawn sexual and romantic feelings under the right circumstances, especially since they emphasized that the Guide was not a boss, or a therapist, or anything that could cause a power difference between them.
Still...interesting. It also meant I was sitting on a piece of hot gossip that would probably shock the hell out of everyone who knew Luka, and could probably get him into trouble with the likes of Reggie and Mr. Shepherd. Keeping secrets, alongwith other things, was something I was good at, and I thought it better if I didn’t let Luka know I’d put the pieces together.
“Well, boys, I’m glad to have been of service,” I said, gathering my stuff and getting to my feet. “I think I’ll test out Luka’s idea and see if a light workout will do me good. Going to be at yoga tomorrow, Clay?”
“You know it,” he said with an easy grin.
After dumping my trash and rinsing the plate, I left the cafeteria. I veered toward the large wall of windows that looked down over the slope of the mountain the resort was built into and took a deep breath. Autumn was coming in full force, casting parts of the mountain range in swaths of gold and crimson, while the fir trees, of course, remained unchanged.
“I keep telling them they need to have a bonfire for days like this,” I heard from behind me, turning to see Clay standing there.
“This is perfect bonfire weather,” I agreed. “A big fire, some food to overcook in the open flames, a beer or two?—”
“Yeah,” he agreed, looking out the window. “Except we’re not allowed to drink.”
“Which makes sense. Alcohol might bring things out that would normally be buried, but it also blurs the lines in people’s heads. I can see how a place that wants to focus on natural, healthy, holistic healing wouldn’t want to drag something like alcohol into the mix. I have heard some interesting things about shrooms, though.”
“God, can you imagine? I’ll try just about anything, but shrooms? I don’t think my brain needs the power to make me see shit,” he said with a laugh.
I eyed him. “Some might say that’s you avoiding dealing with anything hard in your head.”
“Some, huh?”
“Yes, some.”
“Are you one of them?”
“I think it’s important to know your limitations, which ones are good to challenge, and which are better left where they are.”
“So...no?”
“Correct.”
He snorted. “Sometimes you talk in a way that makes it hard for people to follow what you’re thinking.”
“I do.”
“I figured. You do it on purpose, don’t you?”
“Yes and no. I did it a lot once upon a time, mostly by choice, but I did it for so long that it wasn’t so much choice but...habit.”
